Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
action groups to keep the settlement tidier, and make it more beautiful. The other
approach comes largely from initiatives in individual cities.
One of the oldest examples of the first trend can be seen in the
Tidy Towns
cam-
paign in Ireland that has inspired similar actions in other countries. Initially estab-
lished by the Irish Tourist Board in 1958, but becoming part of the Department of
the Environment and Local Government in 1995, the campaign encouraged local
community groups to create a 'tidy town' committee and to find volunteers and
businesses to help reduce the litter, beautify their environment, and enter an annual
competition which awarded prizes to the most attractive town or villages in Ireland.
A total of 52 settlements took part in the first competition, but in recent years an av-
erage of 700 were participating in what has become Ireland's best known local envi-
ronmental initiative (IDE
2008
). The initial approach was informal and designed to
help the tourist industry, but it is now recognized that environmental improvement
creates better places to live and work in, not simply to visit. Moreover, community
co-operation usually creates a civic pride and sense of responsibility in reducing lit-
tering and finding ways to beautify the local environment. The informal approach of
former years has also gone. A booklet produced by the Tidy Towns Unit within the
national government's environment department describes the importance of creat-
ing a formal committee with a legal constitutional structure to guide improvement
actions with a plan, once the initial group has created interest in the need for action
(IDE
2002
). The publication also shows how to go about surveying local areas
to identify their uniqueness, advantages, problems, eyesores, and opportunities to
improve the settlement. In this context, the built-environments, especially the vari-
ous architectural heritages, are seen as important as purely physical environmental
issues. The booklet also identifies the ten criteria used by judges to assess various
entries, namely: overall development, built environment, landscaping, wildlife and
natural amenities, litter control, tidiness, waste minimization, residential areas, the
roads, streets and back lanes, and finally the general impression. Making these cri-
teria explicit provides a focus for volunteer groups involved in the improvements,
rather than depending only upon municipal action.
A different approach occurs in the places that have adopted a
cleaner city pro-
gramme.
The aim is to make a settlement cleaner, not by local government ac-
tion alone, but with citizen involvement, although general goals are usually es-
tablished by the local council and monitored by a local sustainability officer. For
example a 'Cleaner, Greener Baltimore' initiative was established in March 2009
to engage people, organizations and businesses in collaborative efforts to make this
rather run-down and neglected American city a cleaner and greener place, as well
as educating its citizens about the things that can make a difference in tidiness.
This initiative was not just city-hall driven. It involved the participation of over
a thousand volunteers who established the principles behind the initial report. A
regular annual report on the achievements to date, and the recognition of the indi-
viduals or organizations who were leading by example, profiles the progress. Al-
though the initial plan identified 131 strategies and 29 goals, six goals were chosen
as being important for immediate action. Four of these, namely litter elimination,
improving the tree canopy, environmental awareness and green schools, can be
